A multiple-system network architecture may include a central system that contains a central database of data objects that are used by other computing systems in the network. The use of the central data objects by the other systems in the network may be accomplished by storing a local copy of the central data objects in each system's local cache database. The local cache database of each system may be updated whenever a change is made to the central data objects in the central system via asynchronous messages that are sent from the central system to the other systems in the network.
The various systems in the network run applications and may create, for example, business documents that are exchanged between the systems for processing. A first system may generate and process a document using the version of the central data objects stored in its local cache database and send that document to a second system in the network for further processing. When the document arrives at the second system, further processing may be performed using the version of the central data objects that exists at the time in the second system's local cache database, and that existing information may be merged with the existing data in the document. Because asynchronous messaging may be used to update the local cache databases of the first and second systems, these systems may have different versions of the central data objects stored in their respective local cache databases at any given point in time. Thus, there is a potential for conflicts between the information merged into the document by the first and second systems during the processing of the document.